BC News

Psychiatric patient assaults nurse

by
RCMP | Story:
75187 -
May 14, 2012 / 1:00 pm

A patient at the Hillside Psychiatric Centre in Kamloops assaulted a nurse and escaped from the facility Sunday night.

According to RCMP Sgt. Grant Learned, the 23-year-old man with a history of violence grabbed a nurse by the throat and choked her, before ripping a security card away from the victim's neck and escaping the centre.

"The 37-year-old nurse was not seriously injured in the confrontation and was able to summon assistance from staff members, but the subject left the building before he could be stopped."

Police were able to locate the man in the Peterson Creek area. However, when an officer attempted to bring the man to her police car, he struck her in the head and then fled the scene.

Learned says the officers eventually found the suspect - with the help of a police dog - on St. Paul Street, where he was arrested and taken into custody.

"He is expected to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court later today on two charges of Assault. Police will also recommend that he be taken to the Forensic Psychiatric Centre in Coquitlam for an assessment.

The suspect had been recently transferred to the Hillside Psychiatric Centre from Vernon Jubilee Hospital, due to his increasing violence and aggression.

The suspect still faces criminal charges in that community after he assaulted two Vernon RCMP officers who had responded to a disturbance call at the Jubilee Hospital while the suspect was a patient in that facility.